Commentary and discussion of events, trends, and ideas from a libertarian perspective.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Libertarians for Open Government

Here is a video clip of Carla Howell, libertarian activist and Chair of the Committee for Small Government, discussing their open letter to the Massachusetts legislature demanding they open the State's books to the public in an easy to access and understand format.

This is very similar to the bill that Representative Tom Brinkman proposed last month here in Ohio, to much acclaim. (Note, the conservative blogosphere is not among his fan base.) HB 420 requires the State to post its finances and expenditures in a very clear format online, so that ordinary citizens can see where the money goes. The only people who would oppose this are people who believe that government should work in a shroud of secrecy. (Like all those Conservatives who believe the activities of the FedGov should remain hidden.)

Also note, the Committee is sponsoring a ballot initiative to repeal that state's income tax. When they tried this 6 years ago, it got almost 45% of the vote. Imagine that, the residents of TAX-achusetts almost voted to END their income tax. What do you think if the same question was posed here in Ohio, which is theoretically more fiscally conservative?

The thing is...Activists in the Libertarian Party of Ohio will be working on a similar initiative in the coming months to kill the income tax, which they've humorously labeled the "R.I.P" (Repeal the Income tax Petition).

I wonder if Conservatives will stand in the way of this. My bet is, of course they will. Since when can you count on Republicans do actually act in a manner consistent with their stated principles?